The opportunity was there if the KIPP Academy girls’ basketball team wanted it, but the team did not take it.
School officials haven’t publicly said why.
Although KIPP Academy went 11-9 in girls’ basketball this season, the team was not included in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 4 girls’ basketball playoff bracket, released on Saturday, February 24. That was the case even though every team that wins at least 50 percent of its games makes the tournament.
This comes after the team was a part of a game earlier this season where one team forfeited due to injuries caused by a male transgender athlete on KIPP Academy — including at least one injury caught on video.
Collegiate Charter School of Lowell ended its game against KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate on February 8 at halftime while trailing 31-14, according to The Item. It shows up as a 10-0 win for KIPP in the standings, as that is the score used for forfeits in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball.
Collegiate Charter School of Lowell ended the game early due to injury concerns, according to a statement the school’s athletic director released.
An injury caught on video occurred during a battle for a rebound under the basket between the male player and a much smaller female player.
InsideLowell posted a clip of the male player, who wears number 32 for KIPP Academy, injuring a girl during the game.
It is below:
A press spokesman for the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell sent NewBostonPost a statement last week supporting the school’s decision to forfeit the game.
Here is what it said:
On February 8th, the coach of the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell Girls’ Basketball Team decided to end a game at halftime after watching a third player injured in the game with KIPP Academy. The bench was already depleted going into the game with the 12-player roster having four players unable to play. When the coach saw three more girls go down in the first half leaving him with five players, he made the call to end the game early. The upcoming Charter School playoffs were looming, and he needed a healthy and robust bench in four days. Once the third was injured, the remaining five expressed concern to him about continuing to play. The players feared getting injured and not being able to compete in the playoffs.
In an effort to maintain safety for his team, he decided to forfeit. The Charter School supports this decision and reiterates its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students. We take the standards set by the MIAA and our Board of Trustees seriously and strive to uphold them on and off the court. We also follow the guidance from the MIAA and state laws regarding equity and access for all student-athletes.
Teams that compete in the MIAA can cancel their respective seasons when they see fit.
The MIAA lacks a specific season cancellation policy. However, cancellations happen. For example, the Quincy High boys’ basketball team canceled its season in mid-February last year due to a fight that happened between two players on the team.
The news about the male player injuring girls at KIPP Academy broke in The Item on February 14, 2024. Two days later, KIPP was scheduled to play its season finale on the road against Lynn Tech on February 16. However, KIPP Academy forfeited the game.
The Itemreported the game was canceled due to death threats made against the male player, but the school never confirmed the claim.
Male athletes who identify as girls can compete in girls’ sports in the Commonwealth. The state allows it due to a 2011 law called “An Act Relative to Gender Identity”; it made gender identity a protected class in Massachusetts public schools. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education directed the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to allow people to compete on teams that match their gender identity rather than their sex.
Spokesmen for KIPP Academy and the MIAA could not be reached for comment on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.
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